The Unmarried Weasley's Tale
by Cara Lavender
Summary: Charlie Weasley, or as Rita Skeeter calls him, the unmarried Weasley, has a reason why he isn't married. His love of his life was killed when she was only twenty six and it was all his fault. When Ginny hears about his dead girlfriend, she makes it her mission to find out who she was and her story. Charlie/OC
1. Bugger off, Rita Skeeter!

**The Unmarried Weasley's Tale**

 **Chapter One: Bugger off, Rita Skeeter!**

 **A/N: Charlie had always been one of my favorite Weasley's and I decided that there was and should be a reason why he isn't married.**

Charlie Weasley, or as Rita Skeeter so fondly called him, "the unmarried Weasley", was annoyed. Maybe it was because his brother in law and little sister's kids were jumping off over him(Albus kept asking him about the dragons and unicorns). Or maybe, it was because of his mother adding in side comments about how "Isn't it time you got married and what about that girl you work with?" And it probably had to do with the fact that James and Albus fought so often that their voices now sounded like background music to him. And, maybe it was because his sister kept hounding him about when he was going to get married.

He was 36, for Godric's sake, and it was his BIRTHDAY. That had to mean something, right? Right? Who cares if his younger brother by eight years had kids now? And his younger sister by nine years had kids now? Who cares?

Okay, fine. Charlie cared just the tiniest bit. But he didn't want kids. Children were tedious and annoying. Cute, yes, but he much rather preferred the company of dragons.

The entire family was all at the burrow. It was dinnertime. Everyone was eating and having fun. So then why, Charlie wondered, does my mum have to keep telling everyone about how I'm not married? And why does Ginny, my little sister, have to comment in, too?

"You know," Ginny Weasley said. "I heard that Luna Lovegood is getting married. I'm going to be one of her bridesmaids."

"That's great, Ginny," Charlie mumbled. "How is this relevant to this conversation about dragons?"

"Why do you always talk about dragons?" Ginny shot back. "And besides, you need to hear this. As far as I'm concerned, you haven't even kissed a girl."

Bill immediately burst into peals of laughter, as did George, Angelina, and Percy.

"Oh, Ginny." George cackled. "How little you know about our older brother that has an weird obsession with dragons."

"He was quite the popular one at Hogwarts," Bill smiled. "He was Quidditch captain and that usually appeals to people."

"Kind of like Oliver Wood," Angelina pointed out. "But more focused on girls."

"I've kissed more girls than you've boys." Charlie defended himself.

"Char-lee," James Sirius Potter called out in his babyish way. After all, he was only, like, five. Or four? Charlie rubbed his head. Maybe he was three. "Have you ever been in love?"

Charlie, who had just token a mouthful of pumpkin juice, immediately spit it out as Bill choked on his chicken. Percy turned purple.

"Sorry," Harry Potter embarrassedly commented, scolding his son for asking such a personal question.

"Yeah," Charlie vaguely announced. "Yeah, I have. I was going to marry her until-never mind." By this time, he was furious. He wanted to have a fun birthday, a good one, without being reminded of what had happened ten years ago on this exact date. So, Charlie did what he normally did when he was upset. He walked up and went to his old bedroom. Yes, it was a little childish, but it still was what he did.

The entire table lay silent(excluding James and Albus' squabble over the food) at the sudden exit.

"Until what? Who was it?" Ron blurted out. "I didn't know Charlie was going to get married."

"Neither did I," Molly Weasley cried out. "How could I not know about my own son going to get married?"

"They weren't engaged, mum." Bill assured his mother. "He just had reunited with his old friend after the war and they started to date, until a freak incident just happened."

"How do you know?" Ginny nosily asked. "How come we didn't?"

"He only told me and Perce," Bill said. "And it was private. He didn't want any of you to know."

"Know that he was going to get married? I'm going up to talk to him." Ginny exclaimed furiously. "He had no right!"

"No, Ginny-" Percy tried to stop her, but it was too late, Ginny was already walking up the stairs to her brother's old room. She opened the creaky door, and slammed it shut.

"Charles Weasley, you had no right to keep such a huge secret from us! I can't believe you didn't tell us about her! You're too secretive! No wonder you two broke up-"

"Ginny," Charlie told her softly. "She's dead. She died."

"Wha-What?" Ginny stuttered. "She died?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "She died."

"Who was she?" Ginny asked.

"I don't want to talk about it Ginny. This night has been bad enough." With that, Charlie Weasley kicked his younger sister out of his room and went to bed.

Nevertheless, Ginny Weasley was not one to give up. She questioned Charlie everyday after like clockwork. And just like clockwork, he would never tell her the truth. He would always reply, "It was Fleur," or "It was Angelina," or "It was Oliver Wood"(seriously, what was with her family's obsession with Oliver Wood?).

Until one day, Charlie replied a little differently. "If you want to know so bad, why don't you ask Bill?"

So, Ginny did. And all Bill did was go into his drawers and hand her a photo of Charlie and his friends.

"She's the," Bill struggled to find an adjective to describe her. "She's the unique one."

At first, Ginny rolled her eyes but as soon as she looked at the photo, she understood. The girl popped out from the paper. You notice her and it's captivating. She had dark brown eyes, Asian features, and dyed, icy hair. Ginny had sworn she looked like someone she knew, but she couldn't remember.

"Who is she?"

"You might know her sister. She's Aria Chang. Her sister is Cho." Ginny immediately gasped with recognition. She knew that the facial structure reminded her of someone.

"She was incredibly different. They were best friends."

"I see," Ginny nodded. "What happened to her?"

"Check a pensieve." Bill said irritably. "The story's long and complicated."

"Where am I supposed to find a pensieve?" Ginny complained, but nevertheless, she managed to convince McGonagall to use the pensieve in the Headmaster's office. Now, all she needed to do was kidnap Charlie and force him to pour out his thoughts.

So, Ginny did. Well, she attempted to. But each time, her attempts had been failures.

"What should I do?" She groaned to her husband. Harry shrugged.

"You could ask Percy. Or maybe Cho," Harry said helpfully.

"You're so right! I'll go ask Percy right now!" Ginny apparated immediately to Percy and Audrey's house. His two daughters were both sitting quietly and reading a book outloud. Ginny wished her children were as disciplined as that.

"Percy," Ginny softly asked. "Who's Aria Chang?"

Percy stiffened over his desk work. "What?" He pushed his horn rimmed glasses up his nose. "How do you know who she is? She's supposed to be a secret."

"Yeah, whatever." Ginny stared into Percy's eyes and threatened him. "Tell me who she is or I will hex you into eternity."

Percy gulped, knowing how skilled she was at the Bat Bogey curse and immediately spilled all the details on her.

"She was the same year as Percy. They were best friends. She was incredibly gifted in Potions but she constantly got herself in trouble. I remember her and Bill not getting off to the right foot, due to him being a Prefect. She and Charlie got along since they both liked Quidditch. She was on the Quidditch team. I didn't know her that well. But she was nice to me. She defended me once..."

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

"Bill," Charlie shook his head. "I can't believe you gave Aria another detention. She didn't do anything wrong-"

"Charlie!" Bill exclaimed. "She hexed a poor Ravenclaw! I'm sorry your girlfriend keeps doing horrible things to innocent people!"

"She's not my girlfriend," Charlie immediately blurted. "And she had her reasons for hexing that Ravenclaw."

"Oh, yeah?" Bill cocked an eyebrow. It was his first year of being a prefect, and he needed to take that responsibility seriously. "Like what?"

"She was being rude," Charlie told him. "She called Percy a nerd and stuck up, so Aria defended him. It wasn't her fault. She was the one being nice."

"Someone called Perce names?" Bill immediately forgot about his frustrations with Percy and quickly soared off to hex this girl himself, and then landing himself detention along with Aria.

* * *

"Seriously?" Ginny said. "What happened in detention?"

"I don't know," Percy shrugged. "Except after that, Aria and Bill had mutual respect for each other. Ask Bill."

"You all frustrate me!" Ginny growled.

"Get a pensieve!"

"Will you lot stop with that?" Ginny cried out as she apparated out to Bill.

* * *

"Bill!"

"Oi!" Bill waved to Ginny. He seemed to be enjoying himself, relaxing outside with Victoire, Fleur, and Dominique. Louis was perched on Bill's shoulder. Ginny also noticed the addition of Charlie, who seemed frustrated to see his baby sister.

"What happened when you and Aria Chang had detention together?"

"How do you know that?" Bill and Charlie shouted out at the same time.

"Percy," Ginny replied casually. "And soon I'll know everything. Give me your memories and thoughts for the pensieve!"

"NO!" Charlie shouted just as loudly back.

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"Yes," Fleur smiled gracefully. "Eez seems like 'is sister should know about teez dee-tails of eez life, Biill?"

"Yeah!" Ginny smiled back gratefully. "I should know."

"You really want to know?" Charlie sighed angrily. "Fine, then I'll tell you everything about Aria Chang. Let's go to McGonagall's office."

"Wait, really?" Ginny asked confused as Charlie got up.

"Yes," Charlie sighed. "I guess you might as well know."

Something in her brother changed, Ginny realized. Once he was reminded of this Aria Chang, his entire demeanor changed. He just seemed to give up.

"O-Okay..." Ginny said confused.

* * *

Charlie and Ginny stood in front of the pensieve as smoke evaporated in their faces. Charlie squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered with supressed emotion. Sadness?

Ginny watched as she no longer was in McGonagall's office, and now in Hogwart's dining hall. The Great Hall.

Where they first met.

Aria Chang had dark brown eyes, like a liquid brown, and jet black hair with white tips. When she came to get sorted near the beginning, Charlie Weasley was captivated at once. He never saw someone like her. It wasn't because she was Asian, it was the fact that she was so confident in herself and gave off the radiance of not caring at all about anyone in the world. It amazed the young boy.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat roared after taking a mysteriously long time with Aria. Charlie thought that had been weird since Aria seemed obviously Gryffindor to him. Where the brave dwells at heart.

Then it came down to his sorting, he was down the line, and Charlie's heart beat quickened.

"Hm," The hat's voice came softly into Charlie's ear. "You're a weird one. Smart, yes. Very smart. You have good intentions for the world, yet you can be cunning. So that would mean Slytherin, but you aren't very ambitious. You do seem braver than most. A lot braver than anyone I've seen this hat go on." Charlie smiled internally. He was brave.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat screamed out and Charlie took a seat.

"Nice hair," He commented to the girl next to him. She looked at him apprehensively, as if she didn't know if he was lying or not.

"Thanks," She slowly said. "My sister tells me it looks awful all the time. But she's a complete brat."

"I'm Charlie. Charlie Weasley."

"I know. You were just sorted." Her voice was sarcastic and Charlie liked that.

"My name's Albus. Albus Dumbledore," She mockingly told Charlie who laughed.

"I thought you were Aria," He commented snidely which made her laugh as well.

"I like you, Charlie," Aria smiled happily.

"I like you, Aria," He sighed. "I doubt you were Dumbledore. He's like a million years old."

"I'd like to live till I'm a million years old," She wistfully said.

But she didn't. She was only twenty six when she died and that thought haunted Charlie Weasley for the rest of his life. What Charlie told her next was the only thing he heard in his head when she died.

"You probably won't," He teasingly said. "You'll probably live till you're like, twenty six."

 **A/N: I hope you all like it! Review, review, review!**

 **Edit: I sort of had a problem with the one mentioned Asian character in Harry Potter having such a stereotypical Chinese name. As an East Asian, that was sort of annoying to me, but nevertheless, I still love the book series and JK Rowling is my queen.**


	2. Charlie, Charlie

**Chapter Two: Charlie, Charlie**

 **A/N: Yay, new chapter!**

 **What do you think of this OC? I personally think she's one of my most interesting characters I've ever written about. Also, I was going to do every chapter is a new year, but I decided to mix in the second, third, and fourth year in one chapter.**

Ginny watched as the scene changed. It wasn't first year anymore, and they both looked a little older.

"Charlie?" Aria asked. It was a creepy place where they were at. It was dark, not inside Hogwarts' hallways.

What is this place? Ginny wondered. It seemed like a locker room.

"Charlie, come out. It's not funny." Her voice was a little shaky, and she seemed scared.

"But it is," Charlie's voice came from somewhere in the room.

"No, it isn't!" Aria's voice was more frantic. "We're going to miss the Halloween feast!"

"Who cares?"

"Uh, I do! The food is brilliant here!"

No response came.

"Charlie? Please?" Soon, an amused smile came upon Aria's face and she pulled out her wand. "Lumos."

Light filled the room and Charlie's hiding spot was revealed. He cursed.

"Damn it!" He sighed. "I thought I got it."

"Well, you didn't. Now are we going to the feast or not? I'm starving."

"Fine," Charlie sighed, and Aria grabbed his hand(Ginny noted the pure joy on his face when she did so), and steered him towards the hallway.

"Let's go!" She eagerly said. Charlie's ears turned red but he took it happily.

* * *

The scene changed. Now Charlie looked a little different, increase in muscle, and Aria looked older as well. Her hair was tied back in a tight braid.

"Where are they?" Ginny asked Charlie.

"You'll see."

Hagrid stormed out of his hut.

"Ah, Charlie! I've been 'pect yeh!" Hagrid smiled, patting the third year on the back. "And yeh brought 'er! Aria, is 'at yer name?"

Aria smiled and nodded.

As Hagrid explained how to care for the animals(filibusters), Ginny noticed that Charlie was eagerly into it, whereas Aria was not.

"Now, yeh do it fer 'bout ten minutes." Hagrid instructed. "Charlie, yer real good with animals, aren't yeh?"

Charlie smiled in his thanks, but Aria didn't say anything. She was off, playing with one of Hagrid's tamer animal creatures.

"Hey, Ari," Charlie called out. "You have to check this out!"

"Nah," She waved him off. "Me and Chris over here are having fun!"

Apparently, Ginny realized, her brother must have visited Hagrid a lot.

The location changed, but her brother and Aria still looked the same.

They were at Quidditch pitch, it was nighttime.

"How'd you manage to get up there?" Charlie asked her.

"Brooms," She simply replied. And Ginny watched them fly off up to the roof of the Astronomy tower.

"You're crazy!" Charlie exclaimed to her. "This is insane!"

"Well, we're doing it anyways!" She shrieked with happiness as they flew up, up to the highest point.

The sky glittered with stars and the glow of the moon highlighted Aria's hair.

Ginny took it all it, feeling the wind blow through her hair, the rush of excitement, and the wish to go back to her Hogwarts days.

"Don't you feel the excitement?" She yelled through the wind, both on their brooms still. "Don't you feel it?"

"I do!" Charlie yelled back happily. "I feel it!"

"I love it." She descended down to the rooftops, and Charlie followed.

"We are on the top of Hogwarts," She announced as Charlie got off his broom. "We are pretty much the kings and queens of the world right now."

Charlie let out an amused "ha!" and sighed.

"If I was the king," He laughed. "I'd promote my dad to a higher paying job."

"And if I was the queen," Aria laughed back. "I would force my mum to realize my dad's cheating on her."

"If I was king, I would proclaim my mum to stop worrying so much about me and my brothers!"

"If I was queen, I would tell my sister to have more confidence and that she's beautiful!"

"If I was king, I would tell Bill be more happy!"

"If I was queen, I would tell my dad that he's a complete asshole!"

"If I was king, I would tell Percy to loosen up sometimes!"

"If I was queen, I would tell myself that I'm amazing everyday!"

"If I was king, I would tell Fred and George to not annoy mum too much!"

"If I was queen, I would tell the world that they need to stop being such arrogant pricks!"

"If I was king, I would tell Ron to have more confidence!"

"If I was queen, I would say that Hogwarts should be less clique-y!"

"If I was king, I would tell Ginny that she should be proud of who she is!" Ginny's heart swelled.

"If I was queen, I would tell Charlie Weasley that he needs to stop worrying about his family so much and realize that they all will be fine!"

"If I was king," Charlie said countering back to her. "I would tell Aria Chang that she needs to stop worrying about me so much!"

"Isn't it great being kings and queens?" She announced joyfully.

"But we're not." Charlie finished flatly.

"But we are," A mischievous smile appeared on her red stained lips. "We are the kings and queens of Hogwarts right now and whatever we say will happen. So, Charlie. Shout out your wishes and frustrations."

"Fine," Charlie stared into the beautiful night sky. "You go first."

"I wish that I could jump off this building without feeling pain!"

Charlie stared at her strangely.

"I wish that I could get an O in all my classes!" He shouted.

"Dream bigger," She drawled.

"I wish," He tried to think of something. "I wish that I could ride a dragon!"

"Cool!" She smiled. "I want to disappear from the surface of Earth and only be able to observe everyone!"

Again, Charlie stared at her weirdly.

"I wish that my family wouldn't have money problems!"

"Awesome!" She cheered him on. "I wish I could live with the centaurs and never see anyone again!"

Charlie gave her another strange look.

"Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me, you're fine! Dream on!"

"Okay," He said. "I wish that Gryffindor Quidditch team would win the cup!"

"Bigger," She smiled.

"I wish," He stuttered. "I wish that my mum would let me grow my hair out, like Bill!"

"Bigger," Aria said, rolling her eyes. "Dream huge! Have big ambition, Charlie Weasley! Have determination, be motivated!"

"What do you want to do in life?" She asked Charlie.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"I don't want to do anything in life. I have no potential. But, you, Charles, you do."

"I guess, I want to work with dragons, I want to study in Romania!"

"Then shout it!"

"I WANT TO STUDY DRAGONS IN ROMANIA AND MY PARENTS WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MONEY ANYMORE!" His voice was deafening. He turned bright red, hoping the entire school didn't hear.

"And that, my dear Charles, that is how you dream big," Aria said, hopping on her broom.

Then the beautiful night sky morphed into an icy winter ball in fourth year.

"My dearest Charles Weasley," Aria mocked in a low, dumb voice. "May you take this honor to dance with me?"

"Of course I may," He mocked back in a falsetto. "It's been my dream to dance with the one and only, Aria Chang!"

Bill shook his head as he passed by. "Immature," He muttered as they burst into giggles.

Aria's black hair was swept into a beautiful updo, showing off her sharp cheekbones. She wore a pure white dress that dropped low in the front, but touched the ground.

Ginny watched as Charlie spun her around.

"It's a slow dance!" The band on stage announced. They were a cover band and terrible.

So, as Charlie and Aria slow danced, Ginny marveled in how cute the two were together.

"Were you two dating?" Ginny asked Charlie who shook his head.

"Charlie," Aria's voice was soft, yet clear. "Dream big."

"What?" He looked at her in confusion. "Right now?"

"Whisper your dreams," She told him. "Sometimes yelling it out isn't as effective."

"Okay," He shut his eyes. "I wish that Bill and Tonks will start dating."

"That's a horrendous dream," She said. "No. They are not cute together."

"What?" He sighed. "Fine. I wish that I'll become prefect, to make my parents proud."

"Your turn," Charlie whispered back to her.

"I don't think I want a turn today," She said. "I don't want to dream big."

"Come on," He urged her. "You always have dreams to tell me about."

"I don't think I want any dreams," She confessed.

"But you're always telling me to dream big," He protested. "You must have dreams today."

"Dreams of mine have been cancelled, Charlie," Aria said.

"Come on," He pleaded.

"Fine," She sighed, squeezing her eyes tight. "I wish that I wasn't here. And instead I was in the sky. Living with only you. And that no assholes would ever disturb us. Or no-"

The real life Charlie standing next to Ginny winced. She knew what Aria was about to say was horrible, or else Charlie wouldn't have reacted like that.

"I wish I wasn't alive," She whispered. Ginny watched as the fourth year Charlie said no words.

"Your turn," Aria told him. "Dream big."

"I could have stopped her," Charlie told Ginny. "I could have told her no, but I didn't. I was stupid."

Then, Ginny got the realization that maybe this girl's death wasn't a freak accident, and maybe it was on purpose. Maybe it was a suicide.

But, Ginny still watched as the two best friends slow danced, Charlie whispering his dreams, and Aria encouraging him on.

And the real Charlie stood, staring at the girl he had once loved, with tears pouring down his face.

"I could have stopped her," He said, barely audible, face full of sorrow. "I could have stopped her."

 **A/N: So, I'm not going to tell you if Aria commits suicide or if it's actually a freak accident. But I will reveal in the later chapters why she has suicidal thoughts. As you can see in this chapter, you see a little bit of how Aria forces Charlie to be more open with his feelings and their game of "dreaming big." She also told Charlie that she had no potential, meaning that she doesn't believe in herself.**

 **But, as you heard in this chapter, Aria's parents are on the rocks, and Cho and Aria are extremely close. So, I will spoil that Aria will attempt to commit suicide in one of her years at Hogwarts, but it will be unsuccessful.**

 **Thoughts on Aria? Thoughts on Charlie? Thoughts on the chapter? Answer in reviews!**


	3. Killing me Slowly

**Chapter Three: Killing me Slowly**

 **A/N: As someone pointed out, there are hints why Aria's confidence dipped and how she's lost her ambition. They also pointed out how Charlie doesn't have much depth, which I agree with. You don't see much of Charlie's personality in the books, except that he seems fun and loves his family. What I'm trying to play on is the fact that Aria is going to be the one who sort of helps Charlie become who he really is(as in the Dream Big games they play.)**

They were in fifth year now, and Ginny realized that everything seemed different. Aria's hair was cut shoulder length, and Charlie had a small scar near his eyebrow. They were on the roof again, and Ginny began to wonder if that was why Charlie got over his fear of heights when he was younger.

"I could jump off this right now," Aria said, hugging her knees to her chest. "And no one would notice."

"I would," Charlie replied. "Your sister would, too."

"That's true," She sighed. "But I just..."

"What?" Charlie asked her.

"Do you ever feel like you're not going to ever achieve your dreams?"

"No," Charlie immediately replied. He was confused. This was coming from the girl who taught him that all dreams come true.

"Well, I realized that I'm not." She sighed. "The only thing that's going to happen to me is that I'll get stuck with a boring desk job, get married to someone I don't like, have boring kids, pay for them, and die."

"But," Charlie tried to protest. He felt weird. A few years ago, he was Aria. He was telling her how useless life is and how it sucks, and now here she was, doing the exact same thing. Charlie didn't say anything.

"But what?" Aria asked, standing up, dangerously close to the edge of the roof.

"Aria," Charlie warned.

"What?" She asked him, stepping back from the edge. "All I'm saying is that life is stupid. Dumbledore tells us we're all special but we're not. I mean, look at me. How in the world am I so special? How in the world is anyone special here? We're all normal. We're all people that are normal, average. And there are a few special people here. Like you, Charlie. You might make a difference in the world, but me? No. I'm useless. I might as well die now."

"That's idiotic. Everyone has their different strengths."

"And mine is to help guide you in the right path," She said with a smile. "And didn't I do that? When I first met you, I knew you were different. And you are. The only problem is that you were too cynical, jaded. So I helped you dream a little and look where you are now. You are a prefect, smart, good with animals, and soon to be the Quidditch captain. My job here is done."

"Charlie," She dryly told him. "I wish that I could go back to being a kid. When I didn't have to think about this stuff."

"I-" He sighed. "Let's talk about something else."

"Fine," She sat up, her mood changing to happy, a smile plastered on her face. "How's your family?"

"Not good," Charlie mumbled. "Dad's pay got cut."

Aria sighed. "Maybe my work here isn't done," She told him. "You still need a little bit more dreams."

"Okay, fine. What's a good thing about being poor?"

"How about this?" Aria said. "My dad has tons of money. He's loaded. We have money we don't need-but look at where it got me. Nowhere. All his money just stacks up and he has no idea what to do with it or himself. So, he goes out every night, gets drunk, and has sex with some random lady. And my mom? She feeds herself on the money. She's blinded by the jewelry and the gold, she isn't happy. But look at your parents. Your dad is happy with his kids and wife. He doesn't need some random woman to please him. He loves your mum. And your mum, although she stresses on money, she still is rich with happiness. And that, Charlie, is a lot more great than money."

And with that, Aria took her broom and mounted on it.

"Race you to the bottom?" She asked.

"It's on," Charlie said, grabbing his broom and suddenly feeling like he was on top of the world.

* * *

"OWLS are coming up soon," McGonagall told the entire class. "Hope you all prepared for it."

Charlie glanced to his left to Aria slump into her seat.

"And," McGonagall continued. "You'll begin having meetings with me about your future later!"

Aria slumped further.

"What's the matter?" He whispered.

"Nothing," She told him, flashing a smile. "Dream big."

After class, Charlie seemed to be trying to see what was the matter with her.

"I'm fine, okay?" She replied irritably. "Stop worrying so much about me."

"But," Charlie said. She worried about him all the time. Why would she never let him worry about her?

"If you need help with OWLS, I can help you study," Charlie offered to her, catching up with her fast pace. She ignored him, quickening her pace.

"Look, it's fine not to understand all the concepts-"

"I understand the concepts!" Aria exclaimed angrily. "Charlie, it's not the bloody OWLS or the stupid tests and homework, I don't care about that! It's just not fair, that's all." With that, she stormed up the stairs, him chasing after her.

"It's not fair," She told Charlie. "None of it is. Dumbledore telling us we're all special?" Her eyes flared with ferocity and madness.

"He's always saying stuff like how we all are special and how we all are wonderful-but not all of us are! I'm not special, I'm normal and I'm going to have a boring life and end up just like my mum!"

"What?" Charlie stared at her in complete confusion. "You were the one who told me life is too short to be cynical, life's too short to always look at the negatives!"

"I'm not looking at the negatives!" She said. "I'm looking at the future. And that's how it's going to end up. Everyone has their big plans! You want to study dragons in Romania! Alison wants to be a medic, everyone has some goals but me. I mean, what the hell do I have? I have nothing, I don't even have dreams anymore."

With that, the girl walked away from Charlie, leaving him alone to ponder about how he could fix this.

* * *

Ginny realized the scene was changing, suddenly it was different. Aria had longer hair now, Charlie looked older.

They must be in sixth year.

Ginny also picked up on the fact that they didn't seem to be talking to each other. They were at Hogsmeade, sitting at Three Broomsticks, not drinking any of their butterbeers and just staring at random people.

People watching, Ginny realized.

"I bet those two are about to breakup," She pointed out. "And the couple over there both hate each other."

"No," Charlie shook his head, laughing. "I bet the couple over there aren't even a couple, and they're just friends-and the other couple over their love each other."

"Okay, would friends just do that?" She pointedly turned her head over to the couple making out.

"Would a couple breaking up do that?"

"Fair point," She nodded. A blonde girl walked up to the table where they sat.

"Hey Charlie," She drawled out. "Nice seeing the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain taking a break for himself."

"Hi, Madison," Aria said, a bit jealously.

"Oh," Her expression turned into disgust. "Hi, Aria."

The real life Charlie turned to Ginny.

"Aria wasn't that popular among the students at Hogwarts," He explained, which she nodded to.

"Nice to see you too, Madison," She smiled sweetly.

"I should go," Aria told Charlie as she took the hints that Madison was giving her.

"Anyways, Charlie," Madison said, shoving her way into the booth. "I was wondering what you were going to do for the next Hogsmeade trip."

Charlie, oblivious to it all, shrugged. "I don't know, the same thing."

"Let's make a deal. You go out with me next Hogsmeade?"

"I don't know," He shrugged. He was used to all this attention from girls, but he didn't exactly want it. "Aria and I had plans."

"Really, Charlie?" She crossed her legs. "You would rather stay here with Aria and drink sticky butterbeers than makeout with me?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, hoping Charlie wouldn't fall for it. She was wrong.

"I-Maybe. I don't know. Sure."

"Okay, then!" Madison got up. "See you next Hogsmeade!"

The scene changed, and the relationship between Charlie and Aria changed.

"Hey, Charlie," Aria came up to him eagerly. "Ready to-"

"Sorry, can't talk-" He smiled wildly at her. "I'm meeting Sarah at the Astronomy tower! And you know what that means!"

He ran off, leaving her in the dust.

"Oh." Aria sighed.

Ginny watched as the scene changed again. They were at the station, loads of people coming off trains.

"Charlie!" Aria called out, giving him a hug. "I'll see you next fall! And-"

"See you next fall," Charlie briefly told Aria, and turned away.

"Wait, Charlie-" Aria grasped his arm. "Look, I just wanted to say that you don't have to be my friend anymore, if you don't want to. Okay?"

"What?" He gave her a strange look. "Of course I want to be your friend-"

"Charlie, it's okay. You won't hurt my feelings." She said, giving him a nice smile. "See you next fall."

With that, she turned away to get her baggage, and Charlie felt incredibly confused.

* * *

As the scene started to change, Ginny tried to piece together the story. Obviously, Aria didn't have a strong connection with her parents, which might have caused her to change so much. But Aria was so selfless. She cared to much about others, but never her own feelings, and Ginny realized how frustrating that must have been for Charlie.

Aria seemed to have given up on life, Ginny realized. And that's why she let Charlie go.


	4. Dream Big For the Fire

**Chapter Four: Dream Big for the Fire**

 **A/N: Last chapter!**

* * *

The scene changed slowly this time, fading into the darkness and blurring into brightness.

It was fall now, the trees were shedding leaves and Charlie was walking alone. He was trudging his way up to the entrance from the Quidditch pitch, and for the first time, he wasn't with Aria. Ginny followed his gaze to a random tree where a couple sat, laughing.

Aria, Ginny realized. And a brunette guy.

"Hey," A girl who Ginny hadn't seen before randomly came. "Ready for our date tonight?"

"Yeah," Charlie faked a smile. "See you there, Teresa."

His eyes reverted back to staring at Aria laughing with the guy.

"His name was Spencer Holdings," The real Charlie told Rose. "And I hated him. I didn't even know him. Aria and I weren't friends this year."

Aria seemed to realize she was being watched, and she looked up at that point. They made eye contact and Charlie quickly turned away. He felt his face heat up and a red rash start up his neck. Charlie stood there in complete jealously. He was fuming. But Charlie quickly went up the path, and he continued walking up to the building, sighing and running a hand through his hair.

* * *

It was just minutes before his date when a flash of dark hair passed him and slammed into his chest. It feel like a sack of bricks was slammed into him.

"OW!" He cried out, rubbing his chest. "Who-"

He stopped talking, seeing who it was that ran into him. Aria Chang. She was sitting up, dark hair a mess, and eyes rimmed with red.

"Oh," He shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't...I didn't realize it was you."

"No," She smiled wryly. "It's fine."

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked her upon seeing the redness of her eyes.

"I'm fine," Aria replied. She got up from the ground and offered Charlie a hand.

"Okay," Charlie awkwardly rubbed his neck. "I'll see you around." Just as he started back, the slender hand of hers grasped onto his wrist. Charlie saw her long black nails stab into his skin.

"Charlie," She gave him a smile. "Dream big." She walked away quickly, and just like that, Charlie knew something was wrong.

* * *

The scene changed, and Ginny reckoned about a day had passed. Charlie was just leaving the Gryffindor Common room. He had just climbed out of the portrait hole when a girl flew into his chest and started to sob.

"Ar-Aria? What's going on?" Charlie asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm scared," She said through the terrified cries. "I don't know what I'm doing, why I'm here."

It was haunting, watching the scene unfold in front of her eyes, Ginny realized.

"What happened?" Charlie took her by the shoulders and stood her up straight.

"I can't-" She said, tears pouring down her face. "I can't dream big, I'm sorry Charlie."

"Aria," He warned. "You can't..."

"I don't have anywhere to go," She screamed to him.

"Aria, please-"

"Charlie, you can't tell anyone," She told him. "I'm going to make my dreams come true."

"What do you-"

"I told you, remember? At the winter ball? My dreams are coming true tonight. I'll be in a fairytale, Charlie." Aria always knew how to convince him what she was going to do was right. She always knew how to make her situations sound happy.

But this time, Charlie knew it wasn't a happy situation. He knew what she was going to do.

"Okay?" She smiled, through all the tears.

"Okay." He lied. "I promise."

Ginny watched as Charlie ran to Dumbledore's office, knocked on the door until McGonagall came out from somewhere else, demanding what was the problem, and she watched as Charlie spilled out the rest of the details.

She watched as Aria was lead to Dumbledore's office, her screams echoed in all the halls. Yelling and shrieking, she cried to Charlie that he promised and how much she despised him.

* * *

"That was the last time I had saw her in Hogwarts," Charlie told Ginny as the scene was changing. "I never saw until."

"Why would she try to kill herself?" Ginny asked him. "Why?"

Charlie was silent for a few minutes until he responded. "She wasn't happy. She was too busy helping others be happy. She wasn't popular and people tormented her when I wasn't around. And her home situation wasn't amazing. At home, her dad would yell and verbally abuse her mum, and her mum didn't care about her daughters. I learned later that before she ran to me that day, she had received a letter that her mother and dad passed away. Apparently, her mother was murdered by her dad, and her dad killed himself after. He'd rather die than go to Azkaban. She became the official guardian of her sister after she was released from the hospital, which was horrifying for her. She didn't have time to be a kid anymore, and she had to grow up."

"What?" Ginny stared at him in disbelief. "What? You're kidding."

"No, I'm not." He responded emotionlessly. "Aria didn't let me visit her in St. Mungo's. She didn't let anyone. So, I wasn't able to see her. And I went to Romania to study with dragons, and I tried to forget about her."

"And? Did it work?"

"It did for a while. But I got preoccupied with the war."

"So?"

"After the war, I went back to Romania. And I got reunited with her again. Which I'm guessing is the next memory-"

* * *

It was. Charlie was older, the Charlie Ginny remembered more prominently. He was tan, muscular, and happy. It seemed about the time when the sun was setting. He was walking towards a friendly looking building.

"Hey!" Charlie turned around. He had heard that voice before. He knew it. That voice. He searched for the familiar face. The girl wore a navy baseball cap, hair loose in a side ponytail. She was tan, faint freckles across her nose, and the same eyes that Charlie loved and remembered. "My name's Albus Dumbledore. What's yours?"

And then just like that, Charlie was happy again and no one could tell him otherwise.

He had his best friend back in his life.

* * *

Ginny watched as she saw her brother spin Aria around and kiss his. She watched as they both laughed happily.

"I really love you," The former Charlie muttered.

"I do too," She said. "I can't believe it's been a month since I've been here."

"I know," He nodded. "I can't wait for work tomorrow. The dragons are supposed to be fire-y."

"Yeah," Aria looked back, as if she felt guilty about something. "About that."

"What do you mean about that?" Charlie asked her.

"I mean that I'm not sure if I want to go to see those dragons tomorrow."

"Oh," Charlie looked disappointed. "Why not? I thought you signed up for that shift."

"I know, I just -" She didn't finish her sentence.

The real life Charlie took this time to speak.

"I didn't know that she was still suicidal. I didn't understand how it works. And I didn't realize that the only reason she came to Romania was to play with death. The dragons were dangerous. She didn't like them. Ever." Charlie had tears in his eyes. "But I was selfish and I chose to ignore that. She wanted to avoid the dragons that day because they would tempt her to go. They would tempt her to dive into the flames."

* * *

"You came!" Charlie hugged Aria as she smiled in his arms.

"I did," She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you." Charlie looked confused, not quite sure why she told him that.

"Okay?"

The dragons were a beautiful emerald color. Their black eyes gleamed and their fire was an orange sunset color. The fire trickled into the sky and disappeared. The fire tore into the sky and ripped it's perfect color apart.

Aria pulled Charlie close to her, giving him one long kiss.

"I'm sorry for staying too long," She whispered. "I didn't mean to meet you or get attached."

"What?" Charlie looked at her weirdly. "What the hell are you talking about, Aria?"

Ginny knew what was coming. She braced herself. Aria mounted her broom.

"Charlie," She called out. Ginny watched as Charlie's eyes widened with realization what the girl was about to do.

"Aria, wai - "

She flew towards the fire, straight into the flames. Turning back, Charlie had one last look at her face. Her almond shaped eyes were filled with the last piece of happiness she ever had left while her dark brown hair blew in the wind.

"Dream big, Charlie!" Aria Chang shouted before diving into the flames. "Your wishes came true!"

Charlie shouted and screamed, telling her to stop, but it was too late. It happened too fast. Ginny felt the crushing feeling of sadness and guilt pile up in her as she watched the young Charlie fall to his knees with tears streaming down his face.

She couldn't even face her own brother. She didn't want to see his expression.

"Dream big," The young Charlie cried out. "I wish that..." His voice broke off into sobs.

* * *

Charlie Weasley, aged 36, sat on the same spot where a younger version of himself and Aria Chang sat once, dreaming of impossible wishes.

At that time, Aria had only wished for things for other people. Now it was Charlie's time to dream big.

"Dream big, Charlie," He heard her voice in his head. "Dream big."

"I wish," He muttered. "I wish that Aria Chang had better parents."

"Bigger." Aria's voice came to him in his head.

"I wish," He said. "I wish that Aria Chang never was so insecure."

"I wish that Aria Chang never fell in love with me." He said.

"I wish that I never broke Aria Chang's heart." He shouted.

"I wish that Aria Chang was never so depressed." He yelled from the roof, hoping that the entire world could hear him.

"I wish that Aria Chang never dove into the fire." Charlie's voice was louder than ever, knowing that if Aria was here, she'd be instructing him to shout louder and louder and telling him to dream big.

"I wish that Aria Chang was here with me!" Charlie screamed. He knew that everyone could hear him, everyone but Aria. "I WISH THAT SHE COULD HEAR ME RIGHT NOW AND FORGIVE ME!"

He knew that as loud as he shouted, no matter what it couldn't bring Aria back.

"Dreaming big," He muttered. "Waste of fucking time."

"Not really a waste of time," The Aria Chang inside of him lectured. "More like a time consuming world. Where you can wish all you want, and one day your dreams will come true. But, Charlie, your dreams can't be so shallow. Wishing for someone to come back is not a big wish. It's a stupid one."

"Then what the hell do I wish?" He muttered to the nonexistent Aria Chang.

"I wish that Charlie Weasley can just forgive himself," She said. "Because he had nothing to do with what happened."

"It wasn't his fault," The Aria inside his head continued. "It was my choice."

"Charlie Weasley, I want you to dream big," Charlie heard as he shut his eyes. "Dream very big."

"I want you to shout it loud. And I don't want it to be a shallow wish and I want it to be a good one. A possible and incredible wish. So, Charlie. Yell as loud as you can. Yell your wish."

And then Charlie did. He opened his mouth, screaming his wish. "I wish that I will have a best friend and someone I love!" Someone that wasn't Aria, but someone who he could love just as much.

Aria Chang made her decision, and it was time for Charlie to start making his own.

He was ready to finally turn his big dreams into reality.

"Dream big, Charlie," Aria's spirit whispered in the air as he shouted out more wishes. "Dream big."


End file.
